Personal values and medical preferences: postmaterialism, spirituality, and the use of complementary medicine

The use of complementary medicine is increasing in the countries of the West. To find out the reason for this, research concentrated on the patients' demands for these methods, on their dissatisfaction with conventional medicine, and on their health conceptions. Quantitative research into the influence of attitudes and convictions in a broader sense on the use of complementary medicine are lacking, but would be of interest.

This article aims to throw light on the specific question of whether materialistic or postmaterialistic values and spiritual preferences correlate with the use of unconventional medical methods.

Within the framework of the Swiss National Research Programme 34: 'Complementary Medicine', 3,077 and 2,276 Swiss residents were interviewed by telephone in 1995 and 1996, respectively, about their use of the medical system as well as about their attitudes towards materialism and spirituality.

Hypotheses were confirmed: Attitudes and convictions influence the use of complementary medicine. Postmaterialists and interviewees who tended to agree with neoreligious statements used complementary medicine significantly more frequently than materialists and interviewees who tended to disagree with neoreligiosity or who tended towards traditional Christian values.

Further research should concentrate on the interaction of different attitudes and convictions in order to learn more about the background of the growing trend towards complementary medicine. Another important conclusion is that the so-called health market is not simply subject to supply and demand, and cannot be regulated by marketing means alone.